by Saxon Andrew
The second pressed a button on his console and stared at the Commander for a moment before he said, “Missiles are free.”
The Commander paused and offered a quick prayer that his soul wouldn’t be lost because of this and then pressed the red button. The ship shook as twelve missiles left their launch tubes.
• • •
The Scan Leader yelled, “Sire, I have a shuttle leaving the planet with those creatures on its hull.”
The Commander looked at his display, “What about the giant creatures?”
“We can only see the multi-legged creatures.”
The Commander slammed his communicator, “Abort the launch! Abort the launch!”
The Commander of the Missile Ship heard the order and turned white. He pressed his communicator, “It’s too late, Sire. They launched ten seconds ago.”
The Commander stared at his panel and waited fifty seconds as the Planet Killing Missiles moved over the planet to the coordinates they were assigned and then dove toward the planet. In another thirty seconds, he saw a giant flash and the planet went up in flames. The atmosphere caught fire and blew away from the stricken planet and the surface was burned down to bedrock. The destruction appeared to start in twelve huge blasts and then they moved across the planet’s surface until the entire planet was black. He shook his head as he watched the blackness engulf giant cities and vaporize them. His sorrow was interrupted by his Scan Leader, “Sire, that shuttle has cleared atmosphere and is heading directly toward our ships.”
The Commander saw the shuttle glowing bright blue and he stood up, “Jump us away from here now!”
The Jump Leader dialed in two thousand miles and pressed the jump button. The other Raider warships turned and began opening fire at the tiny shuttle moving toward them. It began glowing brighter blue and then it was in their ranks. Warships began exploding in large numbers as huge blue beams blew through their force fields and hulls. The shuttle turned toward the largest concentration of ships and the Commander saw on his display that nothing they fired at the tiny shuttle had any effect. He yelled, “Get them out of there! Order them to jump away!”
There were four hundred Raider warships above the planet before the shuttle arrived. When the last Raider ship disappeared into subspace, two hundred and sixteen of them were left behind burning in space. Tricky pressed his communicator and the Nemesis appeared in normal space. Oily flew the shuttle into the landing bay and the ship disappeared leaving more than two hundred ships behind that were exploding in space and a giant rock that had once been a living planet.
Chapter Twelve
Grant looked up, “Ana, jump us to the Animal’s planet.”
“Jumping in ten seconds.”
Grant stood up and went to the landing bay to join Cinny and Whippet.
• • •
Cinny and Grant sat beside a fire one of the Spiders had started to keep them warm during the cool evening. Winter was approaching and the night temperatures were falling into the forties. Cinny watched the animals celebrating the return of the first expedition and they were really excited. “They really know how to celebrate.”
Grant nodded. He watched a young Spider leap over a tall tree as two young Crocs bellowed their approval. Whippet was fully accepted by the group and the Crocs begged him to ride them through the forest. Grant looked over to the edge of the forest and saw ten ants watching the gathering. He knew the Ant’s mother was seeing what was going on and he wondered if she was going to do something about the additional animals. The Ants weren’t moving and that was a good sign.
Iggy, Slick, Tricky and Slippy came walking over to them and Grant sat up straighter against the tree trunk he and Cinny were lying against. Grog came walking over and Iggy looked at him, “I didn’t request your presence.”
“I know, Father, but if you’re going to discuss future attacks, I feel I should be present.”
“Why?”
Grant said, “If he thinks his presence is needed, he should be allowed to stay.”
Iggy looked at Grog and nodded his huge head. Slick said, “We think that our children can land on the next planet without endangering your ship.”
Cinny sat up straighter, “Oh?”
“You saw how the shuttle they took was able to destroy their most powerful ships. It should be quite capable of moving through their defenses and releasing the next ones assigned to attack the Raiders.”
Grant looked at Iggy, “Do you agree with this?”
“They were quite effective.”
Grant stared at them for a moment and Iggy said, “We’ll leave the shuttle in orbit above the planet and it will fend off any ships the Raiders send.”
Grant noticed Grog was squirming and he said, “Grog, what’s bothering you?”
“I’m worried about that.”
Slick said, “About what?”
“Leaving the shuttle in orbit.”
Slippy looked at his friend and said, “What has you concerned?”
“Do you remembered what happened after the nuclear blast went off?”
Slippy tilted his head, “Not really. I do remember you taking me in your mouth.”
Grant looked at Tricky, “Who was your partner during the attack?”
“Biggy.”
Iggy looked out at the lagoon and roared. A huge Croc came running over and Iggy said, “This is my oldest hatchling, Biggy.”
Grant looked at the giant, “Biggy, do you remember when you and Tricky were hit by a nuclear explosion?”
Biggy shook his huge head up and down, “How can one ever forget it?”
Grog said, “Biggy, immediately after the blast that hit us, I found Slippy was highly disoriented.”
Biggy snorted a laugh, “Tell me about it. Tricky was singing for the Raiders to launch another missile.”
Tricky looked at Biggy, “I was what?”
“You were singing at the top of your voice for them to launch another missile. I had to grab you by the legs and pull you into the ocean. After a while you came to your senses and went into my mouth.”
Slippy looked at Grog, “I don’t remember being disoriented.”
“Trust me on this one, Slippy, you were out of it.”
The group remained silent for a minute and Cinny said, “It appears a nuclear explosion overloads your senses. You must absorb too much power too quickly and it’s like a human being drunk.”
Iggy looked at Cinny, “Why should this bother you?”
Grant leaned forward, “I suspect the Raiders now know that the Spiders are immune to their strongest blasters so I don’t expect them to use them in the future. However, what would happen if they fired one of those planet killing missiles at the shuttle?”
Tricky looked at Slippy and then looked at Grant, “Now that would be a great meal.”
Grant smiled, “And if all of you covering the shuttle’s hull was disoriented at the same time?”
Grog said, “They would leave part of the shuttle’s hull uncovered and the next blast would destroy it leaving them floating in space.”
Iggy looked at Grog, “This is why you wanted to be here?”
“It is. It would also place all of us in danger as well.”
Slick looked at Grog, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”
“What if the shuttle is attacked before we’re taken down to the planet? That huge missile that was used to destroy the planet would kill us. We saw how Hoady died when two blasts hit him in short order.”
Iggy looked at Slick and shook his head, “We haven’t thought this through.” Slick bobbed once in agreement.
Cinny nodded and said, “Your plan to use the shuttle to take your children down to the planet will work; you just have to use two shuttles.” The six giants looked at Cinny and she said, “One shuttle will go in and attack the Raider ships in orbit as a second shuttle blows through them for the planet’s surface. Once the second shuttle is in atmosphere, the first shuttle will continue their attack
but not stay in one place very long. After the others are on the planet’s surface, it will jump away.”
Iggy said, “Why would we have it leave?”
“Because we don’t want them to uncover the Spider’s disorientation by a nuclear blast. The longer we can keep that hidden the better.”
“But what about the ones on the planet?”
“The Crocs will pull their partners away if they’re disoriented. They’ll also have a shuttle they can use to escape if another planet killer shows up. We want the Raiders to use their nuclear weapons against our attackers. They did much more damage than anything the first mission accomplished.”
Iggy looked at Grant, “Do you agree with this?”
Grant tilted his head, “Cinny is the best tactician between us. She see’s things I often miss.”
“There is another problem that the shuttles will have.” Everyone looked at Cinny and she continued, “With every square inch of the shuttles covered in Spider, the pilot won’t be able to use its scanners to see what’s going on around it.”
Tricky went up on his legs, “That won’t really be a problem for very long.”
Slick said, “Why is that?”
“We are starting to see things through each other’s eyes, Father. Oily and I have made mental contact and he can see everything I see.”
The gathering was struck silent. Grant stared at the young spider and said, “Use your mind to call him over.”
“I don’t have to, he’s been listening to us.”
The group turned and saw another Spider walking toward them from the lagoon. Iggy and Slick were stunned by what they saw. Oily arrived and Iggy said, “Oily, close your eyes and tell me what Tricky sees.” Oily closed his eyes and Iggy motioned Grant and Cinny to stand up. They stood and Oily said, “Our two friends just went to their legs.”
Slick looked at Trick, “How long has this been going on?”
“It started while we were on the Raider planet and most of those with us are starting to make connections with each other. I think this ability develops naturally when we reach a certain age.”
Slick tilted his head left and right, “I’m the oldest one here and I don’t have a connection to any of you.”
Tricky said, “Father, close your eyes and focus on me in your mind. Drive everything out of your consciousness and look in your mind for me.”
Slick stood there and said, “I don’t sense anything.”
“You’re not focusing hard enough. Drive everything out of your consciousness and only focus of finding me.”
Slick stood still for three minutes and then opened his eyes, “I can hear your thoughts.”
“You can also see what I’m seeing.” Slick nodded.
Grant looked at Cinny and hoped Ana wouldn’t suspect them being able to hear each other. Grant said, “See if you can connect with one of us.”
Slick closed his eyes and after five minutes he opened them, “I don’t sense anything.”
Grant nodded, “I guess we don’t possess that ability.”
Cinny sat back down and leaned against the tree trunk, “We have a shuttle that was slightly damaged during the first drop. Everything functions except the jump drive.”
“How can we use that?”
“It could be used to make the drop on the planet’s surface. It could move inside the first shuttle’s jump field and jump in with it. It could be collected by the Nemesis when it escapes or the first shuttle can use its jump drive to take it out.” Cinny paused, “However, I think the Nemesis would need the first shuttle to hold off any defenders while the pickup is done.”
Iggy looked at Slick and Grant said, “We still need some time before we make the next drop.” They looked at him, “We’ll need another pilot for the second shuttle that is capable of making connection with a Spider on its hull.”
Slick said, “Tricky and Biggy were hatched sixty days before the others.” Tricky and Biggy flinched at the comment. Grant saw they didn’t know that piece of information. “Oily was the next one hatched and I suspect the others will begin developing this mental connection skill soon.”
Cinny said, “We also need to find some more Raider planets. While your children are developing this ability, we will go to the next target and follow ships that are departing there.”
Iggy actually smiled, “Let’s get back to the celebration. Our children are impatient to tell their brothers about what they did.”
Cinny snuggled under Grant’s arm, “Could you move it over here? It’s starting to get cold.”
Slick bobbed, “You big babies.” However, he called out and the children began running toward the fire. A young Croc tossed a huge log on the fire and a Spider hit it with a small blaster beam. A croc had to move the tree trunk away from the fire as the temperature grew too hot. Grant sat with his arm around Cinny and felt at peace. This is what life was all about.
• • •
Grant looked at Cinny and Whippet in the landing bay, “Alright, are we clear on what we’re doing here?”
Whippet nodded, “We will stay in subspace above the Raider planet and follow any Raider ships that jump away. If it doesn’t lead to a good target, I’ll come back and follow another one.”
Grant nodded, “We’ll do this for twelve hours and then jump back to the Nemesis to see what we have.”
Grant lifted the scooter off the landing bay floor as Cinny and Whippet followed him through the force field. The Nemesis went into subspace and extended a passive antenna into normal space. The three scooters jumped away and Ana launched another messenger probe. Things were really going to plan and this should accomplish the goals of her directors.
• • •
The High Priest watched the video of the planet’s destruction and his expression was grim. The Head Servant waited in silence as he leaned back on his cushions. The High Priest shook his huge head and looked at the Priest, “I don’t know which of them are the most evil.”
“They are devoid of compassion, Your Holiness. They killed their own people without mercy.”
The High Priest looked down and slowly shook his head, “They are not alone in that. There are thousands of civilizations that do the same thing.”
“Not like that, Your Holiness; thousands of civilizations hold their citizens by force. This planet was there of their own free will and was not held at blaster point to be in the Raider Dominion. This was tantamount to killing your own children to prevent danger to yourself.”
“So which is worse? Those that use force to control their populations or those that are willing to kill their own citizens.”
The Head Servant lowered his head, “You’ve left out the third kind.” The High Priest nodded. “I believe that is the worse of the three.”
“And we’re lying in bed with them.” The Priest nodded. “That is ultimately what we’ll have to face. However…” The Priest looked up at his master, “There is another force operating that might make a difference.”
“I pray they do, Your Holiness.”
The High Priest nodded and thought, “So do I my friend; so do I.” He looked back at the video and stared at the dead planet. Such depravity; it had to be stopped.
• • •
Grant waited in subspace and thought about the mental conversation he had with Cinny before he left the Nemesis. “Grant, our ship is not from the Orion.”
“I must agree with you. Ana is manipulating it so that it appears it will only function when one of us is in contact with it.”
“If that’s the case, there has to be other ships like ours out there. Some of them might be even more powerful.”
“I wish I could disagree but logic dictates you are probably right.”
“What do you think will happen to us once those ships show up?”
“We will no longer be needed.” He paused and said, “Nor will the Animals.”
“Do you think we might be rewarded?” Grant remained silent and Cinny mentally sighed, “Neither do I.�
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“Cinny, we can only follow this current course we’re on. Once the attacks begin, we are going to have to deal with Ana.”
“Let’s hope we can do that.” Grant remained silent as they went to the landing bay.
• • •
Grant waited in space and saw a large jump track appear. He hit the thrusters and followed it. It entered normal space and he moved his visor into normal space behind it. He dropped back into subspace and jumped quickly away after locking the coordinates into his panel. He waited for jump tracks to appear but nothing happened.
That Raider Battleship he followed had arrived at a massive military complex that was located on a huge moon circling a giant planet. The planet was a gas giant and uninhabitable but the moon was covered in ship building facilities and numerous defense satellites circled above it. He didn’t know if this was something to take on. He looked at the image on his scooter’s display and saw numerous ships above the moon that dwarfed the giant battleships seen previously. He stared at the moon’s coordinates and committed them to memory. He erased the image and coordinates from his panel. He was somewhat certain that Ana could not communicate with his scooter while it was in subspace. This was something he would hold for future use. He jumped back to the Raider planet and waited for another jump. An hour later, he followed another ship away from the planet.
• • •
Slick dreaded what he had to do but he shrunk to half his size and walked over to the ten ants that were still at the edge of the forest. He lowered himself to the ground and said, “I need to speak with your mother; will you take me to her.”
The ants didn’t move but Slick could see their antenna vibrating. Five of the ants turned from the group and began moving out into the forest. Slick went up on his legs and followed them. Iggy yelled, “Where are you going?”